Published 12:00 am, Friday, October 21, 2011

WINDSOR -- Middletown is fast. Windsor is faster.

The undefeated (6-0) Warriors hit big plays on offense, special teams and defense to beat Middletown 41-13 in a Central Connecticut Conference Division II West game at Jack O'Brien Stadium on the campus of Windsor High Friday night.

"That's a pretty fast team," Middletown coach Sal Morello understated. "They can make you look bad with big plays. And that No. 2 [Aaron Berardino] is a special player."

Special indeed.

Berardino ran back a kickoff for an 85-yard touchdown that wiped out a 7-6 first-quarter Middletown lead, he caught a 74-yard TD pass from quarterback Rob Fleeting (6-for-18, 181 yards) that gave the Warriors a 21-7 halftime lead and topped it off with an 85-yard catch and run for another TD that built the lead to 28-7 with 7:47 to go in the third.

"He's a great football player," said Windsor coach Rob Fleeting, Sr. "I think he's the best receiver in the state and he just makes big plays."

Windsor hit other big plays, too. Kymm Gordon ran 41 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Warriors a 35-7 lead and Tre Coyne picked off a Devon Carrillo pass in the fourth quarter -- yes, the Windsor starters played the whole game -- and ran it back 53 yards for a touchdown with 7:54 left to play.

Windsor scored first on what was its only real drive of the night, going 73 yards in four plays with Gordon scoring from 10 yards out at 7:39 of the first quarter. Middletown (4-2) answered when Carrillo (10-26-1, 169 yards) hit O'brien Sinclair on a 79-yard strike. With Sinclair's kick, MHS led 7-6 with 1:48 to go in the first. That lead lasted exactly 17 seconds, or as long as it took Berardino to run the kickoff back 85 yards.

"That was a mistake," said Morello. "The ball wasn't supposed to be kicked to him, and when you make a mistake against a team this good, they'll make you pay. But that kind of mistake happens at every level; it's not the kid's fault.

"One thing is I can't question my kids' effort tonight. They played hard from beginning to end."

But Middletown was unable to use its speed. That's because of the Windsor defense, which Fleeting said is the real strength of his team.

"They beat us up up front," said Morello. "It's not just that they're big; they're strong and quick. We couldn't get untracked."

Middletown's key running back, Jha'kur West, was held to minus four yards in 10 carries. Carrillo ran for 115 yards in 23 carries and he scored the Dragon's second touchdown on a nine-yard run with 5:14 left in the game.

MHS tried to get the ball back, but an onside kick went out of bounds. Leading by 28 points, Fleeting not only kept his starters in to the end, he was also throwing deep at the end of the game.

"Windsor has a very good team and we're not at that level right now," said Morello. "We have a ways to go to get to that level; but we're working at it. We have to find ways to get better. They're better than us right now and sometimes you just have to tip your hat and say we got beat."

The final stats were actually fairly close. Windsor had 312 yards offense to Middletown's 284. The Warriors had 131 yards on the ground on 16 carries while MHS had 111 yards on the ground in 42. But big plays -- and speed -- kills.

Middletown plays Bristol Central at Muzzy Field in Bristol Friday at 7.